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Sunday, April 20, 2014

15 Pounds of Coffee

In honor of my recent discussions at a writer's conference about an upcoming book (which is now going to be re-branded and re-named, but I'll talk about that later!!), I wanted to re-post this little snippet. . .hope you enjoy!

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I'm finishing up a book project entitled 'Switchel, Sack Posset and Shrub' and in my research, I came across a fact I've probably read a dozen times before:

"The allowance of provisions for each grown person, to make the journey
from the Missouri River to California, should suffice for 110 days. The
following is deemed requisite, viz.: 150 lbs of flour or its equivalent
in hard bread; 25 lbs. Of bacon or pork, and enough fresh beef to be
driven on the hoof to make up the meat component of the ration; 15 lbs.
of coffee, and 25 lbs. of sugar; also a quantity or saleratus or yeast
powders for making bread, and salt and pepper." The Prairie Traveler: A Handbook for Overland Expeditions
[Applewood Books, Bedford MA] 1993 (Originally published as A Hand-Book
for Overland Expeditions, Randolph B. Marcy, Captain U.S. Army, [Harper
& Brothers:New York] 1859)

Did you catch it? 15 POUNDS of coffee. Per PERSON.
Whoa!

That seemed like an awful lot of java to me and I wondered what that meant in per-cup-measure.

Weighing a level tablespoon from three different ground coffees we
happened to have on hand (no lectures from the 'grind as you go' crowd,
please . . . or I will be forced to mention the Folger's Singles we have in the cupboard!), they all came out about the same: 5ish grams.

With this reliable data in hand, and already knowing that a pound equals
about 453 grams, I quickly surmised that there are approximately 90
tablespoons in a typical pound of coffee. Most resources will cite two
tablespoons of grounds per six ounce serving of coffee as the standard
ratio. If that's true, there are about 45 portions of black gold tucked
into each pound of coffee!

From there, it's a quick jump to our final destination if we multiply
those 45 cups per pound by the 15 pounds suggested per person. The big
answer!?!? There are approximately 675 cups of coffee in 15 pounds of beans! For a 110 day journey!

That's a lot o' joe!

Given that every guidebook, including the one quoted above, was VERY
clear about not taking ANYTHING superfluous to the basic needs of the
journey, this seems a bit of a puzzle. Leave grandma's china behind so
you can bring a drink? Forego books and photos and mementos from home
for a cuppa? Well, SIX cuppas? Each day? Per adult?

I don't really get it . . . and I confess I've tried to figure it out. A
lot of pioneer reference materials allude to a few possibilities:
coffee made water safer and more palatable to drink, it was believed to
have a number of health benefits, it was a patriotic thumb on the nose
to the Crown and her abhorrent Tea Tax, and it was probably slightly
addictive. All these reasons might be valid . . . but I think there
might be one more.

After living in the UK for the best part of nine years, I came to
understand the value of 'a nice cup of tea.' It's more than a habit or
an addiction or a social norm. It's a deep comfort: a moment to pause,
re-group and breathe amidst our hectic, stressful lives. I'm back in the
US now, tucked back into the lovely Sierra Nevada Mountains, but my
learned respect for a hot beverage has definitely come home with me.

Perhaps that's what coffee meant to the pioneers, too, and why it was
considered an absolute necessity rather than a luxury. In the midst of a
very stressful, very long, and very dangerous journey (moving step by
step away from all they had known and loved), the comfort of a steaming
cup in the wilderness . . . well, that had to be worth its weight by any
means.

2 comments:

Yes Robynne, us Brits do like our tea. My Grandchildren laugh at me when We've been playing and I say that I now want to play my favourite game - sitting down for a nice cup of tea. I have a chorus of 'but it's not a game!'.

That's funny, Liz. . .but I guess they're right. . .a cup of tea is serious business! :) After all, my father in law has told me numerous times, 'A properly made cup of tea puts the world to rights.' And I believe him!! :)